After months of faulty performance from its international business, daily deal aggregator and web retailer Groupon Inc. is trimming overhead—and jobs.
Groupon announced plans to reduce the overhead of its international division including the elimination of about 1,100 positions from international offices around the world in a report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this morning. Groupon’s daily deal e-commerce business Groupon Goods is No. 30 in the 2015 Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.
Groupon will take a pre-tax charge of $35 million to pay for the compensation and other severance costs associated with firing employees.
Groupon isn’t saying much about the layoffs including how many international jobs will be eliminated for Groupon Goods. Groupon reported an employee head count of 10,686 of which 71%, or 7,693 employees, worked for the company’s international business units as of the end of the second quarter of 2015. With the elimination of 1,100 jobs, head count would be reduced to about to 9,586 employees.
Through the first half of fiscal 2015, Groupon reported:
- Revenue of $1.489 billion, up 3.0% compared with $1.445 billion in the same period in 2014.
- North American revenue of $961.2 million, a 12.4% jump from $855.0 million.
- International sales of $528.0 million, a 10.4% decline from $589.6 million.
- Groupon Goods revenue of $836.0 million, up 12.5% from $743.1 million.
- International Groupon Goods revenue of $270.1 million, up 2.3% from $264 million during the same time last year.
- Groupon Goods revenue for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region up 5.4 % to $234.4 million from $222.3 million
- Groupon Goods revenue for its rest of world business, which the company doesn’t define as specific locations, down 14.4% to $35.7 million from $41.7 million
- Total Groupon Goods international revenue up 2.3% to $270.1 million from $264.0 million.
- Operating loss of $32.0 million compared to a $32.5 million loss a year ago.
- Net profit of $94.8 million compared with a year-ago loss of $60.7 million.
- Gross billings of $3.081 billion, up 1.9% from $3.023 billion.
During its second quarter earnings call Groupon CEO Eric Lefkofsky said the company was looking over its international business very closely and looking to improve performance. “Our primary objective as relates to our international businesses is to ensure that every country in which we operate s making money and is strategic to our long-term mission,” Lefkofsky told analysts, according to a transcript on Seeking Alpha.
The head count reduction will be complete by September 2016, Groupon says in its SEC filing.
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